Central Poultry( 2000) Limited has rebbufed Lilongwe City Council’s (LCC) attempt to have it’s license temporary revoked for disobeying a closure order due to hygiene concerns.
During a tour in Lilongwe amid continued increase of cholera cases, City Mayor Richard Banda closed the company and Wakawa market due to poor waste management.
“The cholera which we have in the city is a big challenge, for this reason we have stepped up with some measures to deal with the challenge.
“So far we have closed some places in the city where hygiene is not there and these places are Wakawaka market as well as Central Poultry 2000 Limited and we have advised the owners of these places that their places will be reopened until we see the changes,” Banda said.
However, soon after the city officials left, Central Poultry( 2000) Limited resumed it’s work.
On Thursday, the Council through Environmental Health Officer, McJohn Ngwira Mkhuzi visited company with a temporary license revocation order, but he was chased by management who refused to sign it.
Mkhuzi refused to comment on the matter, reffering reporters to Mayor Banda, who could not be reached as we went to press.
On Wednesday, the Mayor said apart from closing some facilities and banning some businesses on hygiene grounds, the city council has also intensified clean up initiatives in the city.
“Our staff are already on the ground and we have also had some other trucks collect all garbage within the city and we have also hired additional equipment to help us clean up the city,” he said.
Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer, Adrian Chikumbe hailed LCC for showing commitment to help in combating cholera outbreak in the country especially in Lilongwe city.
“As the presidential taskforce on cholera is asking stakeholders to take part in the fight against cholera outbreak in the country, it is encouraging to see the city council showing commitment in the fight against the disease,” Chikumbe said.
Lilongwe has so far registered 1265 cases of cholera and 106 deaths since March last year.
